Pluricarpellatia Explained

Pluricarpellatia peltata was a species of herbaceous aquatic plant, which occurred in the early Cretaceous period of Brazil.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Pluricarpellatia peltata was an aquatic, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant with 5 mm wide rhizomes and 0.3-1.3 mm wide roots. The plant could exceed 25 cm in length. The thin, petiolate leaves have a smooth margin. The petioles were 5 cm long, and 3 mm wide.^[1]

Generative characteristics

The pedunculate, 2 cm wide flowers had up to 17 cm long peduncles. The gynoecium consists of 6-12 carpels.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was published by Barbara Adelheid Rosina Mohr, Mary Elizabeth Bernardes de Oliveira and David Winship Taylor in 2008.

Type specimen

The type specimen was collected by Barbara Adelheid Rosina Mohr, Mary Elizabeth Bernardes de Oliveira and David Winship Taylor South of Nova Olinda, Brazil in the Crato Formation of the Araripe Basin. It is stored in the Natural History Museum, Berlin, Germany.

Position within Nymphaeales

It was likely a basal member of the family Cabombaceae.^[2]

Etymology

The generic name Pluricarpellatia references the many carpels present in the flowers. The specific epithet peltata refers to the peltate leaves.

Notes and References

1. Mohr, B. A., Bernardes-de-Oliveira, M. E., & Taylor, D. W. (2008). "Pluricarpellatia, a nymphaealean angiosperm from the Lower Cretaceous of northern Gondwana (Crato Formation, Brazil)." Taxon, 57(4), 1147-1158.
2. Fossilworks: Pluricarpellatia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2024, from http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=207947